Canton is a city in Stark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 70,872 at the 2020 census and estimated at 69,001 in 2025, making it the eighth most populous city in Ohio. The Canton, Massillon metropolitan area had an estimated 400,551 residents in 2024. Canton is located approximately 60 miles (97 km) south of Cleveland and 20 miles (32 km) south of Akron in Northeast Ohio, on the edge of Ohio’s Amish Country.
At a Glance
- County: Stark County
- County seat of Stark County
- State: Ohio
History of Canton
Canton was founded in 1805 when its plat was recorded at New Lisbon, Ohio, on November 15, 1805, by surveyor Bezaleel Wells, who later served in the Ohio Senate.
Canton was likely named as a memorial to Captain John O’Donnell, an Irish merchant marine with the British East India Company whom Wells admired. O’Donnell named his estate in Maryland after the Chinese port city of Guangzhou, formerly romanized as Canton. O’Donnell was the first person to transport goods from Guangzhou to Baltimore. The name selected by Wells may also have been influenced by the Huguenot use of the word "canton", which meant a division of a district containing several communes.
Through Wells’ efforts and promotion, Canton was designated the county seat of Stark County upon its division from Columbiana County in 1809 on January 1. Canton was incorporated as a village in 1822 and reincorporated as a city in 1838. Wells donated his personal holdings in the city to Canton; these holdings would become the Christ United Presbyterian Church, Timken Vocational High School and McKinley Park (originally a cemetery).
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Canton, Ohio, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.